How to make passive income on Etsy – 17 product ideas and how much you can make from them

If you want to make passive income, Etsy is the place to be.

The platform is easy to use, the fees are reasonable, and the customer base is huge. So it’s no surprise that the number of sellers on the platform tripled to 7.5 million during the course of the pandemic.

In this article, I’m going to walk you through the basics of how to make passive income on Etsy. Then I’ll share 17 tried and tested digital product ideas to inspire your next moneymaker, along with the average sale you can make for each.

And if you need to get your head around the basics first, here’s my overview of passive income for artists. 

How to create passive income from digital products on Etsy

Etsy is renowned for handmade crafts like candles and jewelry. But what you may not know is that you can also make passive income on the platform by selling digital products.

This comes with two main options:

• Instant downloads – Ready-made files that buyers can access as soon as they make a purchase
• Made-to-order downloads – Files that need to be personalized by the seller before buyers can access them

When it comes to making truly passive income on Etsy (you know, the kind you don’t have to lift a finger for), you want to focus on that first option. 

So how do you do it?

Well, the first thing you need to do is create your Etsy shop. This is totally free and should only take you an hour or so. You’ll need to write a little blurb about your store and add your products and bank details so you can get paid.

And speaking of payment, Etsy charges a $0.20 listing fee per product, plus 6.5% for every sale. And considering the size of their audience – 95 million at the last count – I’d say that’s a small price to pay for so much exposure.

Sold? Good. Now let’s talk product ideas!

1. Wall art – $1 to $10

Printable wall art is one of the most popular ways to make passive income on Etsy. From bold typographic prints to intricate florals, you can easily make $5 a pop selling your printer-ready PDFs on the platform.

2. Coloring pages for adults – $1 to $5

The peak of the adult coloring boom may be behind us, but they’re still big business on Etsy. You could go for mandala patterns, sweary quotes, or even maps of fictional fantasy worlds. Then, by bundling your designs together in a PDF, you can fetch anywhere from $1 to $5 for every sale.

3. Photoshop or Lightroom presets for photo editing – $1 to $20

Love photography and photo editing? Share your expertise with the world by exporting and selling your presets from Adobe Lightroom. These can easily be packaged up as DNG or XMP files ready to be imported by your customers. And depending on how many you’re selling and the niche you’re focusing on, you could make between $1 and $20 for every sale.

4. Procreate brushes and stamps – $5 to $15

Everyone and their mom have a tablet these days, making it easier than ever to create digital art. So if you have a knack for creating your own Procreate brushes and stamps, use them to make passive income on Etsy! These sets easily sell for over $5, with watercolors, botanicals, and tattoo-style fineliners being the most popular styles.

5. Branding starter kits – $5 to $50

The world is full of terrible branding. And I mean terrible. So help small business owners get off on the right foot with a branding starter kit designed by you. Include color palettes, font pairings, customizable logos, and mood boards for different types of brands. And sell it all for $20+.

6. Social media templates – $5 to $10

Square, vertical, carousel. News, infographic, testimonial. Reels, Stories, Shorts. Social media is a minefield when you don’t know where to start. But a few templates can go a long way. So package up some of your own that customers can edit in Canva – one of our favorite tools for small businesses – and enjoy $5 to $10 for every sale.

7. Icon and illustration packs – $1 to $5

Business owners love icons and illustrations. They can convey anything from “sustainable” to “share”, all in a little 50px x 50px square. So if you have a knack for hand-drawn illustration, you could easily be making $2 per sale from your own bundle. 

8. Pitch deck templates for Slides and PowerPoint – $10 to $30

Another great way to make passive income on Etsy is by designing and selling pitch deck templates. There’s a huge number of entrepreneurs out there looking for the perfect deck to pitch their business to venture capitalists. And for the right Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint template, they’re willing to pay anywhere from $10 to $30. 

9. Motion graphics templates – $5 to $40

They say content is king. And when it comes to engagement, video is top of the pile. So create a library of titles, transitions, and other animated elements for Adobe After Effects. This could make you as much as $40 per sale on Etsy! 

10. Video thumbnail templates – $5 to $10

Sticking with video for a second, thumbnail templates are another great way to make passive income on Etsy. Video thumbnails can be the difference between life and death for a vlog or YouTube channel. And by creating editable thumbnail templates for Canva, you can make a good $5 to $10 for every sale.

11. Business cards – $1 to $2

There are few design challenges more fun than a 3.5” x 2″ business card. There’s absolutely nowhere to hide, which is why so many make a mess of it – and it’s probably also why many business owners turn to Etsy for an editable template. By designing a set of templates for everyone from hairdressers to IT consultants, you could make upwards of $2 per sale. 

12. Digital stationery sets for small businesses – $1 to $10

Another thing every business needs is stationery. I’m talking letterheads, envelopes, notecards, forms – you name it. Actually, better yet, you design it, then get it on Etsy for a few dollars a day of passive income. 

13. Invoice and receipt templates – $1 to $4

Continuing the business theme, let’s talk about invoice and receipt templates. From craftspeople to service providers, these things are essential cogs in the business wheel. And judging by the number of people buying editable templates for these things on Etsy, great designs are in high demand. Just one single-page invoice template could make you $1 per sale. Or you could embellish your digital product with an invoice tracking spreadsheet to offer even more value – and make even more money!

14. Resumes and cover letters – $1 to $5

A well-designed resume and cover letter make a massive difference. So if you’re a pro at laying out documents, create and sell your own resume and cover letter templates on Etsy. Include things like skills, contact details, and previous experience – and make your designs editable in both Google Docs or Microsoft Word. The reward for your efforts? Somewhere between $1 and $5.

15. Digital planners – $1 to $4

Digital planners are all the rage thanks to apps like Goodnotes and Notability. So tap into the trend with your very own digital planner design, complete with sections for goals, journaling, project planning, and more. These can fetch you up to $4 per download on Etsy, with many selling well over 1,000 copies. 

16. To-do list templates – $1 to $5

Another popular purchase on Etsy is the humble to-do list template. The best ones include options for assigning categories, prioritizing tasks, and setting statuses and due dates. Yours could be an editable spreadsheet or a PDF for annotation apps like Goodnotes and Notability. And with prices of around $5 and many products with over 5k downloads, it’s another great option for making passive income on Etsy.

17. Habit trackers – $1 to $3

From watering the plants to taking your vitamins, sometimes it’s difficult to remember all the little things you have to get done in a week. This has driven a huge trend in spreadsheets designed for writing down your habits and ticking off when you’ve done them. You can then monitor the progress of each habit over time to see which ones need more focus. So, that’s how it works, now you just need to design a template of your own and get it on Etsy for a dollar or two.

Final thoughts

Thank you for reading my ideas on how to make passive income on Etsy. I hope it’s left you feeling inspired to create a nice little side hustle for yourself. 

If you’ve been reading this thinking that the sales figures sound a bit underwhelming, remember: selling digital products on Etsy is all about volume. Some of the ideas I’ve suggested here can make you 50-100 sales per month. And over time, all those $2, $5, and $10 purchases add up! 

Looking for more money-making ideas? Check out my 10 tips for making money as a digital creator.

_{Featured image Oberon Copeland @veryinformed.com}